Social Construction of
Crime and Deviance?
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Objectives of Chapter 1
Following this Slide Show you should:
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Be able to define deviance and crime.
Be aware that both deviance and crime are social
constructions.
Be aware that deviance and crime can vary between
cultures.
Be aware that deviance and crime can vary across time.
Be aware of Howard Becker's view that no action in itself is
deviant until defined as such.
Be aware that deviant and criminal behaviour are
controlled by rules, social mores and sanctions.
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Questions to Think About in this
Topic
How are crime and deviance defined?
How some people are more likely to
acquire a criminal identity?
How are some groups more powerful and
able to define behaviour of others as
deviant or criminal?
Do criminal and deviant identities result from natural or social
factors?
Do social processes, and institutions like the media, shape our
picture of crime and criminals?
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What is Deviance?
Deviant behaviour is:
Behaviour
that differs
from the
normal.
Behaviour
that incurs
public
disapproval.
Behaviour
subject to
some form
of
sanction.
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Anthony Giddens
‘Non-conformity to a given
norm, or set of norms,
which are accepted by a
significant number of
people in a community or
society’ (Anthony Giddens
1993).
Deviance Chapter 1: Social
Construction of Crime and Deviance?
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Becker and Labelling Theory
No
action in
itself is deviant.
It has to excite some social
reaction from others.
Howard Becker (above)
highlights the social
construction of deviance
by stating:
It depends upon who commits
it, who sees it, and what action
is taken about it.
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Copyright © Harry Venning, Guardian Newspapers Ltd.
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Deviance is Relative
Definitions of deviance will clearly
vary between:
Cultures
Time
Periods
Sub-cultures
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Are These Acts of Deviance?
Look at the pictures on the next few slides. Identify in what
ways they may be viewed as deviant.
Note deviance does not need to be criminal, have any laws
been broken in these pictures?
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12
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Deviance Controlled by Sanctions
Deviant behaviour is effectively
controlled by sanctions that
promote conformity.
Sanctions may be:
Formal
or
Informal
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Legal Definitions of Crime
The OED defines
crime as: ‘an act
punishable by law,
as being forbidden
by statute’.
Crime is therefore
a specific act of
deviance that
breaks society’s
formal rules or laws.
The process of
law-making is
a social one since
laws are human
products.
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Normative Definitions of Crime
Besides
the legal
definition
Mooney et al. (2000)
suggest a
normative definition
of crime.
Hence society is largely unsympathetic to criminals who
have been caught – e.g. “they get what they deserve”.
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Religious Crimes
Before industrialisation
the most serious
crimes were typically
religious in nature:
Heresy
Sacrilege
Blasphemy
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‘Just’ and ‘Unjust’ Laws
Some people
regularly
flout laws.
For example, many
people ignore 30 mph
laws in towns or 70
mph on motorways
Dog
licences
were withdrawn
because so
few bought
them.
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Middle-class Criminals?
Steal
stationery
Respectable people may:
Put
private letters
through office
mail
Fiddle
expenses
Make private
phone calls
at work
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White Collar Crime
Marxists argue there
is an enormous
amount of whitecollar and corporate
crime.
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Crime is not Fixed or Permanent
Homosexuality and abortion are no longer
crimes in most societies.
Cannabis
was recently
declassified to
a Class C
drug.
During the period of
‘prohibition’ in the USA the
possession and
consumption of alcohol
was illegal.
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Conclusions
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Deviance is behaviour by individuals or social groups that
fails to conform to culturally expected norms of behaviour.
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It is a relative concept – no act in itself is deviant per se.
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Labelling theory makes the important point that it is the
social reaction or label that defines an act as ‘deviant’.
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Sanctions can be positive or negative, formal or informal.
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Deviance is distinct from crime, although crimes tend to be
deviant behaviour, not all deviance is criminal.
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Conclusions (continued)
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Deviance is controlled by sanctions.
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Crime is a formal act of deviance that violates statute law.
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Besides this legal definition, it carries normative
judgements – criminals are not viewed sympathetically.
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In pre-industrial society most crimes were religious in
nature, or acts of theft against the aristocracy.
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According to people’s value judgements crimes can be
‘just’ or ‘unjust’.
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